His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon of Norway attended on Monday a ceremony in the Qatari capital of Doha to celebrate 50 years of business cooperation between Norway and Qatar. The Crown Prince was accompanied by Norway’s Minister of Commerce, Torbjørn Røe Isaksen.
The Crown Prince and Minister of Industry also met representatives of the authorities in Qatar. Among the many prominent people the Crown Prince met was His Highness the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. During the meeting, they reviewed Qatar-Norway relations in various fields, ways to enhance them and issues of mutual interest. Later on Tuesday, Crown Prince Haakon also met with Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Interior. During the meeting, they discussed bilateral relations and ways of developing them in different fields, in addition to a number of issues of common concern.
Photo: Guri Ofstad Varpe, The Royal Court
A dinner was held at the National Museum in Qatar, where His Royal Highness gave a speech in which he spoke warmly about the cooperation between the two nations. Crown Prince Haakon said: “It is a great pleasure for me to be back in Qatar. My first visit was in 2010 when I participated in the opening of QATALUM. Back then, I also had the chance to visit another of Doha’s iconic cultural buildings, the impressive Museum of Islamic Art. Tonight we celebrate 50 years of successful business cooperation between Qatar and Norway. Although our two countries are far apart geographically, it is great to see the extent to which our cooperation has expanded over the past 50 years.”
Crown Prince Haakon emphasised that cooperation between Norway and Qatar can be strengthened and further enhanced in the future. His Royal Highness said: “By continuing our cooperation, we can share knowledge, ideas and technology that will help us to find innovative and effective solutions to these challenges. I witnessed an impressive example of technology-sharing today at the Hassan Food Greenhouse.”
Ever since Norwegian Hydro established itself in Qatar in the 1960s, Qatar has been an important market for Norwegian business and industry. The companies Hydro, Yara, Kongsberg and Equinor are the hosts of the 50-year celebration. Norway’s diplomatic relations with Qatar are handled by the Norwegian Embassy in Abu Dhabi.
